Border points loophole to be closed

08/10/2012

At present, a motorist who offends in the Republic of Ireland will not be punished in the North (and vice-versa), but a timetable has been agreed for penalty points to be mutually recognised on both sides of the border, with ministers from Dublin and Belfast agreeing to introduce legislation effective in both jurisdictions.

Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar met Stormont ministers Danny Kennedy and Alex Attwood at a North-South Ministerial Council transport meeting in Armagh on Friday and he says the new legislation will be in force by December 31st 2014:

"We made real progress on the mutual recognition of penalty points, and have agreed on a detailed timeline," Varadkar told RTE.

"I look forward to a time when it won't be possible to escape penalty points simply by crossing the border. This level of co-operation between the two jurisdictions is very important.

"Even though we live in two separate jurisdictions, new EU laws are regularly introduced which affect citizens north and south in the same way.

"For this reason it makes sense for us to work with our equivalent departments in the North on important issues that affect us."